topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

National

Latino

Axios Latino

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign stop in New Mexico on Sunday is worth watching for two reasons: The state is one of the GOP's best opportunities to flip a Democratic governorship. And the Republican nominee has gotten this far without help from Donald Trump.

Why it matters: New Mexico has the largest share of Hispanic voters of any state in the country. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is currently the nation's only Latina governor. But she's unpopular — and with Hispanic voters poised to continue their rightward shift, Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former TV meteorologist, is suddenly in play.

He's well positioned after soundly defeating several MAGA allies in the GOP primary. Real Clear Politics shows Lujan Grisham's polling lead is within the margin of error.

New Mexico has surpassed more traditional battlegrounds like Michigan and Pennsylvania on the GOP's radar due to the nomination of weak Republican candidates in those states. 

The intrigue: Ronchetti has kept his distance from Trump, who is deeply unpopular in New Mexico, but is betting DeSantis will be a more popular surrogate. 

That's a risky bet: Ronchetti is a well-liked meteorologist and self-branded family man. DeSantis' harder-edged rhetoric may turn off some swing voters. Ronchetti will need to win over independents and even some moderate Democrats to prevail.

What they're saying: Ronchetti told Axios that Republicans can't win in New Mexico with harsh rhetoric about Hispanics and must focus on issues like crime and the economy to win over the state's swing Latino voters. 

"We have a lot of conservatives in this state, who are wondering, 'Can we build a movement to do this?' We can. But don't go out and start thinking that you can exclude people in your party," Ronchetti said.

The big picture: Crime and public safety have emerged as the top issues in the campaign, according to strategists involved in the New Mexico race.

This month, Lujan Grisham released an out-of-context campaign ad accusing Ronchetti of wanting to "defund the police" based on debate comments criticizing Lujan Grisham's insufficient support for law enforcement. Ronchetti and the Republican Governors' Association hit back by calling her attack an outright lie.

The state's Fraternal Order of Police, which hasn't endorsed anyone in the race, criticized the Democrat for misrepresenting Ronchetti's position.

Between the lines: Lujan Grisham has been beset with low approval ratings, staff upheaval and charges of hypocrisy.

She initially drew praise for her handling of the pandemic but sparked outrage when she wagged her finger at a press conference at residents who weren't wearing masks. 

She was then slammed for buying jewelry after she ordered the closure of all nonessential businesses.

Lujan Grisham once told a Democratic candidate to leave a lieutenant governor's race over allegations of workplace harassment, only to later pay out thousands of dollars to a former campaign staffer accusing her of sexual misconduct.

Multiple cabinet secretaries in the state's education, health and youth services departments have resigned or been fired in her four years in office as staff complained about the toxic environment of her administration. 

The other side: David Turner, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association, said Republicans' claim they could flip New Mexico is "more bluster than substance."

He said the DGA committed $2.5 million to help Lujan Grisham in May, and they expect her to win re-election.

“Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has never been in a stronger position for re-election — her campaign has already raised a monumental $7.8 million to date," Dominic Gabello, senior campaign adviser to the governor's re-election campaign, told Axios.

Don't forget: Ronchetti won a contested GOP primary without any support from Trump. 

Before he ran for Senate in 2019, he said: "I'm a Christian conservative who used to be a Republican until the Orange One. I'm afraid that has taken a part of my soul, and that's not coming back." As a candidate, his campaign later said he was joking.

In 2020, Ronchetti came within six points of defeating Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) even as President Biden carried New Mexico by 11 points. As a familiar face on New Mexico TV, he won over independent voters with a pragmatic campaign message.

GOP's New Mexico bet

The state is one of the GOP's best opportunities to flip a Democratic governorship.

Illustration of an elephant at the top of the New Mexico flag.

New Mexico

Politics & Policy

By helping Democrats pass a landmark $750 billion climate, tax and health care bill, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have complicated their own re-election fortunes for 2024.

Why it matters: While Democrats have a credible chance to hold onto a narrow Senate majority this year, they're staring at a rough political map in two years, when both of those seats are up — and when the party will also be forced to defend seats in red states like Montana and Ohio. 

The fortunes of battle-tested Democrats like Sinema and Manchin will determine the party's ability to hold a long-term Senate majority.

What we're watching: Manchin, who enjoyed bipartisan approval as a check against the Biden White House, is now being tagged by Republicans as a supporter of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's liberal agenda.

He's already getting attacked on television by a potential GOP challenger, Rep. Alex Mooney, for "destroying" West Virginia's coal industry. 

Sinema, who already faced distrust from progressives, ultimately ensured the bill's passage.

But she held out her support in order to protect a tax break for private equity executives and hedge fund managers, aggravating both progressive activists and even moderate former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Zoom in: Supporting any legislation boosting clean energy won't be an easy sell in coal-producing West Virginia. And Sinema's vote, in tandem with her private equity push, opens up new lines of attack from her political rivals on both the left and right.

Manchin secured a key concession easing permitting for fossil fuel projects, but it's unlikely to be enough to persuade Trump-loving voters that the bill favors their interests. "He's up against the entire Democratic machine and Republican machine, who are both calling it a climate bill. That's not helpful," said one source familiar with Manchin's thinking.

His approval rating soared after he scuttled Biden's original multitrillion-dollar social spending bill, jumping 17 points — from 40% to 57% — in the first quarter of this year. He's now expected to lose some of that bipartisan support after negotiating the spending deal.

Be smart: Sinema's vulnerabilities are more complex.

At a time when she's winning over Republicans and independents back home, her support for the partisan legislation handed a future GOP challenger a ready-made attack line: She's more interested in protecting Wall Street than Main Street. 

At the same time, unlike Manchin, Sinema also has to worry about the possibility of a primary challenge from her left. Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego is already teasing a possible primary challenge against the maverick Democrat in 2024.

Between the lines: Sinema was concerned that penalizing private equity firms would adversely affect the small businesses they support — an issue that every other Senate Democrat facing a tough race in 2022 also agreed with. And she also used her leverage to guarantee additional funding for drought resilience, which is a major issue in arid Arizona.

"At a time of record inflation, rising interest rates and slowing economic growth, disincentivizing investments in Arizona businesses would hurt Arizona's economy and ability to create jobs," Sinema spokesman Hannah Hurley told Axios.

The bottom line: With inflation dominating voter concerns for the midterms, it's unlikely the climate, tax and health care bill will have a significant political impact in 2022.

But if Manchin's and Sinema's roles in this party-line bill were to weaken two of the upper chamber's most independent members, it could have major ramifications for the Democratic Party in 2024.

Manchin, Sinema and 2024

Democrats are staring at a rough political map in two years.

Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Joe Manchin

A man in Pennsylvania has been arrested after allegedly plowing his car into a community event, killing one person and injuring 17 others, before driving off and fatally beating his mother in a nearby town, Pennsylvania State Police said in a press release Sunday.

The latest: The alleged assailant was identified as Adrian Oswaldo Sura Reyes, the Luzerne County Coroner’s office told ABC News. His mother's autopsy showed that she was hit by a car and assaulted with a hammer, ABC News reported.

Driving the news: Community members in Berwick, Pennsylvania, were holding an all-day fundraiser on Saturday to benefit the victims and families of a deadly house fire in nearby Nescopeck this month, WNEP-TV reported.

Shortly after 6pm, a man drove his car into the crowd of people gathered at the event. Police arrived on the scene to discover one person dead and 17 injured, per the press release.

A short time later, police received a call that a man in the Nescopeck borough of Luzerne County had been spotted physically assaulting a woman. Upon state troopers' arrival on the scene, they discovered the woman was dead and the man had been detained by municipal police, the press release said.

The big picture: Reyes, 24, of Nescopeck, was identified by police on Sunday afternoon and authorities noted that he is a suspect in both cases.

Reyes was arraigned on Sunday on two counts of criminal homicide and denied bail.

"These investigations are very active," Pennsylvania State Police said in the press release but gave no further details.

Information on the victims and the injured — who have been taken to various local hospitals — is not being released at this time.

Man killed 1, injured 17 by striking them with car before killing mother: Police

Community members were holding a fundraiser for victims of a recent house fire when the car drove into the crowd.

Pennsylvania

U.S. Capitol Police are investigating an incident in which a man fatally shot himself after crashing his car near the Supreme Court early Sunday morning, USCP announced in a statement. 

Driving the news: Shortly after 4am, a man drove his car into the vehicle barricade at East Capitol Street and Second Street, which was engulfed in flames as the man exited the vehicle, per the statement.

The man then fired several shots into the air along East Capitol Street. He subsequently fatally shot himself as Capitol Police were approaching him.

Capitol Police noted that no other injuries were reported and it did not appear that any officers fired their guns. 

"At this time, it does not appear the man was targeting any Members of Congress," the statement added. Most members are home for August recess. The Supreme Court also is not in session.

The statement made no mention of a potential motive but noted that the shooter's background is being investigated.

In a second statement released Sunday afternoon, Capitol Police identified the man as 29-year-old Richard A. York III. York was a Delaware resident. 

Police are still unsure why York drove to the Capitol complex, the statement said. 

The big picture: The incident comes at a period of heightened security for Congress, the Supreme Court and the broader political world.

Supreme Court security has become a hotly debated issue since the leak of a draft opinion in May overturning Roe v. Wade, with the Department of Homeland Security warning of heightened risk to justices in the aftermath of the ruling the following month.

Lawmakers have also been on high alert in the wake of several security incidents involving House members – against the backdrop of Jan. 6 and a consistent rise in threats against members in recent years.

Members have also become entangled in a wave of threats primarily targeted at Justice Department and FBI officials in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search.

Capitol Police investigating car crash, fatal shooting near Supreme Court

The man fired several shots into the air and then fatally shot himself as officers approached him.

Washington, D.C.

At least eight people, including five Americans, were wounded in a shooting targeting a bus near Jerusalem's Old City early Sunday morning. 

Driving the news: Two of the victims, a pregnant woman and an elderly man,  were in critical condition, the Israeli Foreign Ministry tweeted.

At least five of the wounded were U.S. citizens, the U.S. Embassy confirmed to ABC News.

The shooter, identified as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem, fled the scene but later turned himself in to police, per the New York Times.

What they're saying: U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides tweeted Sunday condemning the attack and saying he is "praying for a quick recovery for all of the innocent victims."

"Deeply saddened to confirm that Americans were injured in this attack. I’ve spoken with the families and will keep them in my prayers. Continuing to monitor the situation," he added.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid condemned the shooting in a statement and said security around Jerusalem would be increased as of Sunday evening "in order to prevent copycat attacks."

The big picture: The shooting comes just a week after the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza following three days of fighting that left more than 40 Palestinians dead and over 300 wounded.

Americans among 8 wounded in Jerusalem bus shooting

U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed he had spoken with the families of those injured.

sraeli security inspect a bus after an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City

Israeli security inspect a bus after a shooting outside Jerusalem's Old City on Aug. 14. Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

Israel

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) emphasized on Sunday that "the law is king" and not the president, as the FBI's search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home raised questions about whether he committed crimes.

The big picture: The FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents after searching the former president's Mar-a-Lago home on Monday.

Driving the news: Klobuchar told NBC's "Meet the Press" that it would be up to the Justice Department to determine whether Trump's actions rise to the level of a crime but added that "everyone has to follow the laws."

"The law is king," Klobuchar said. "The president isn't king. And I would add to that, the former president isn't king."

"As a senator, I know when I look at the classified documents, I've got to go in a special room," she added. "I can't even wear my Fitbit. You can't bring staff with you." 

Klobuchar noted that these types of documents contain the nation's top secrets, which could be used to do harm.

"That's why it is so important that these documents remain in safe locations," she said. "And Mar-a-Lago, where you can check out croquet sets and tennis rackets and golf clubs, that's not one of them."

More details: Klobuchar also said she is concerned about Republicans' response to the search, as many in the party have cast it as a politically motivated attack.

"I thought in the old days the Republican Party used to stand with law enforcement," Klobuchar said. "I hope some of them do today because this kind of rhetoric is very dangerous to our country."

She noted that FBI director Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump. 

"That piece of it is so important for people to understand," she said. "That this is beyond politics. They're simply doing their jobs. And we have to let them do their jobs."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says "former president isn't king" after Mar-a-Lago search

Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks at a hearing on Jan. 5. Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Amy Klobuchar

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a private letter on Sunday to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the FBI's search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home last week, Rubio's office told Axios.

Why it matters: The search, which led to the seizure of 11 sets of classified information from Trump's residence, has prompted separate calls for more information from Republicans and Democrats about the search and the contents it yielded.

Rubio, Warner send bipartisan request for info on Mar-a-Lago search

The letter asks for all information regarding the rationale behind the search.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

GOP's New Mexico bet

Manchin, Sinema and 2024

Man killed 1, injured 17 by striking them with car before killing mother: Police

Capitol Police investigating car crash, fatal shooting near Supreme Court

Americans among 8 wounded in Jerusalem bus shooting

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says "former president isn't king" after Mar-a-Lago search

Rubio, Warner send bipartisan request for info on Mar-a-Lago search

Scoop: White House to circulate Afghanistan memo defending U.S. withdrawal

White House left Kabul evacuation decisions to final hours, GOP probe claims

School districts across America will do anything for more teachers

Rand Paul calls for repeal of Espionage Act after Trump FBI search

Afghanistan: A day in the life, one year later